Morning Prayer: Saturday of Trinity 7 (Proper 16) – 28 July, 2012

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being.

Opening – From Psalm 104
You spread out the heavens like a curtain;*
you lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above;
You make the clouds your chariot;*you ride on the wings of the wind;
You make the winds your messengers*
and flames of fire your servants.
You have set the earth upon its foundations,*
so that it never shall move at any time.
Glory to the Father…

Psalm 119:1-24
Happy are they whose way is blameless,*
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Happy are they who observe his decrees*
and seek him with all their hearts!
Who never do any wrong,*
but always walk in his ways.
You laid down your commandments,*
that we should fully keep them.
Oh, that my ways were made so direct*
that I might keep your statutes!
Then I should not be put to shame,*
when I regard all your commandments.
I will thank you with an unfeigned heart,*
when I have learned your righteous judgements.
I will keep your statutes;*
do not utterly forsake me.
How shall a young man cleanse his way?*
By keeping to your words.
With my whole heart I seek you;*
let me not stray from your commandments.
I treasure your promise in my heart,*
that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;*
instruct me in your statutes.
With my lips will I recite*
all the judgements of your mouth.
I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees*
than in all manner of riches.
I will meditate on your commandments*
and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in your statutes;*
I will not forget your word.
Deal bountifully with your servant,*
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may see*
the wonders of your law.
I am a stranger here on earth;*
do not hide your commandments from me.
My soul is consumed at all times*
with longing for your judgements.
You have rebuked the insolent;*
cursed are they who stray from your commandments!
Turn from me shame and rebuke,*
for I have kept your decrees.
Even though rulers sit and plot against me,*
I will meditate on your statutes.
For your decrees are my delight,*
and they are my counsellors.
Glory to the Father . . .

Conclusion (from Isaiah 45))Thus says the Lord who created the heavens,*
who formed the earth and made it;
who did not create it a chaos,*
but formed it to be inhabited –
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;*
for I am God: there is no other.
From my mouth has gone forth in righteousness*
a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,*
every tongue shall swear”.’
In the Lord all the offspring of Israel*
shall triumph and glory.
Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being.

READINGS

Joshua 23.1-16A long time afterwards, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, ‘I am now old and well advanced in years; and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you, and drive them out of your sight; and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. Therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, so that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them, but hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day. One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.

‘And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the bad things, until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.’

Romans 15.25-33At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain; and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf, that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

Silence

Response (Ps. 92.4)V. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
R. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
V. I will sing for joy because of the works of your hands.
R. You have made me glad.
V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.

BENEDICTUS

Benedictus Antiphon: God will guide us* in the way of peace.

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old*
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of
death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father.

Benedictus Antiphon: God will guide us* in the way of peace.

PRAYERS

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

CollectsAlmighty God, your Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence. Give us pure hearts and constant wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal. Amen.